Esther leaves her home in Buttevant and travels to Dublin on her pet donkey and tries to acclimatise herself to the new environment. Her father is constantly sent to the bold chair by Grandad for not calling him "Grandmaster". Jack and Grandad worry about her and sends Soupy Norman to visit and check up on her. He comes back with very little details. To combat homesickness, Esther watches a picture of an "old woman who lives outside the town".